THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 403 



classes are suffering lies in their own hands, and it con- 

 sists in the enactment and enforcement of a series of 

 just and liberal laws by the General and State Govern- 

 ments, which shall assign to each class of the commu- 

 nity the rights to which it is fairly entitled, protect the 

 farmer in the enjoyments of the privileges and rights 

 which are his due, and punish any attempt of one class 

 to prey upon another ; laws which shall put an end to 

 the practice of building useless and unnecessary rail- 

 roads; which shall check the enormous power now 

 lodged in the hands of the railroad officials of the Union, 

 and compel them to manage their roads so that they 

 shall be a benefit and not a curse to the community ; 

 which shall inaugurate a system of fair charges for 

 transportation, and render it possible for the produce of 

 the farm to reach the markets of the country at rates 

 which do not involve the ruin of the producer; which 

 shall give us cheap coal in this land of plenty ; which 

 shall no longer make the manufacturer richer and the 

 consumer poorer ; which shall have for their object the 

 protection and encouragement of all classes of our in- 

 dustry. 



The war of the monopolists upon the community 

 has been going on long enough, and it must cease, and 

 the General Government must cease to aid the capitalist, 

 and to oppress the community. The interests of the 

 entire people of the United States are opposed to those 

 of the monopolies we have been considering. We want 

 cheap coal, cheap bread, cheap transportation, cheap 

 clothing. We want the price of every necessary article 

 of consumption or daily use lowered, and whatever 

 man, or combination of men, who seek to prevent the 

 realization of this demand, is the enemy of the public. 



